Minneapolis is moving closer to adopting its first zoning regulations specifically designed for modern data centers after the City Planning Commission advanced a proposal Tuesday evening that would restrict where the facilities could operate, limit their size and impose additional conditions intended to protect surrounding neighborhoods.
The October 13 action comes as the city approaches a November 21 deadline, when a six-month moratorium on certain new data center developments is scheduled to expire.
The proposal represents a significant shift from the city’s existing zoning framework, which does not separately classify modern data centers and instead generally treats them as communication exchanges.
That older classification has allowed such facilities to be considered in numerous zoning districts without standards specifically addressing their electricity consumption, cooling systems, backup generators and other operational characteristics.
They look at four types of changes to the rules…
- Commissioners Reduce Proposed Server-Space Limit
- Additional Zoning Review Introduced
- Data Centers Would Be Restricted to Two Downtown Districts
- Building Design Rules Aim to Reduce Neighborhood Impacts
Next steps…
The proposal is expected to proceed to the City Council’s Business, Housing and Zoning Committee in early November.
The committee’s consideration is scheduled for November 6, according to the hearing account, while the full City Council is expected to consider the ordinance November 12.
Those dates place the council’s anticipated decision only days before the November 21 moratorium expiration.